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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: spring · fork · club · plane · kid · band · coach · mark

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. mark — a trace
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. club — for dancing
  5. mark — a grade
  6. fork — in a road
  7. plane — a tool
  8. spring — the season
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. spring — a coil
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. spring — of water
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. kid — to tease
  16. club — for golf
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. kid — child
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. club — a group
  23. band — a music group
  24. band — a ring

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com